White House: Iran ‘deeply involved’ in planning Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping

Iran has been “deeply involved” in the planning of attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels against commercial vessels in the Red Sea, providing weapons, funding, training and “tactical intelligence” to enable the strikes along a critical sea corridor, US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson says in a statement.

Citing newly declassified American intelligence, Watson says “Iranian support throughout the Gaza crisis has enabled the Houthis to launch attacks against Israel and maritime targets, though Iran has often deferred operational decision-making authority to the Houthis.”

“Since 2015, Iran has transferred advanced weapons systems to the Houthis, including Unmanned Aerial Systems, Land Attack Cruise Missiles, and ballistic missiles that have been used in attacks against maritime vessels, including commercial vessels with no known links to Israel, and in attacks against Israel since October,” Watson says.

Without ongoing Iranian support, “the Houthis would struggle to effectively track and strike commercial vessels,” Watson says.
Iran, which has long backed the Yemeni rebels, has provided unmanned aerial systems, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to the Houthis, including those used in recent strikes on commercial and military vessels and attempted attacks on Israel, according to the US assessment.

“We have no reason to believe that Iran is trying to dissuade the Houthis from this reckless behavior,” Watson says.

The Houthi campaign has prompted a growing list of companies to halt operations in the major trade route.

The US has established a naval coalition to protect the Red Sea global shipping lane. However, the Biden administration has not yet taken the step to reverse its decision to declassify the Houthis as a terror organization. US officials say that Washington is still considering the move.